Words can invite you
to step into a pair of moccasins and walk through the woods.

Or help you slip on a
pair of track shoes and sprint to victory.

Words can be the
patent leathers that take you to meet the president.

Or they can weigh
like the moon boot that protects a broken ankle.

Words make stories
that ask writers and readers to leave themselves behind for awhile. Step
out of your skin and into someone elseís. Sometimes youíll shiver with
fright. Other times your heart will ache with loss. Or dance with joy.

Maybe youíll walk
away with a bit of understanding of someone elseís life and experiences
that you didnít have before.

I invite you to step
into my writerís shoes and those of people who have invited me to walk
with them for awhile.